Japanese symbol for “restrictive”

制限用法

せいげんようほう

Romaji: seigen'youhou

restrictive (of relative pronoun use)

In Japanese, restrictive is 制限用法, read せいげんようほう (seigen'youhou).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

n restrictive (of relative pronoun use) (ling)

Kanji and stroke order

制

system, law, rule

on: セイ

8 strokes · JLPT 2

限

limit, restrict, to best of ability

on: ゲン
kun: かぎ.る、かぎ.り、-かぎ.り

9 strokes · JLPT 2

用

utilize, business, service

on: ヨウ
kun: もち.いる

5 strokes · JLPT 3

法

method, law, rule

on: ホウ、ハッ、ホッ、フラン
kun: のり

8 strokes · JLPT 2

Other Japanese words for “restrictive”

Word	Reading	Meaning
限定用法	げんていようほう genteiyouhou	restrictive (use)
限定的	げんていてき genteiteki	limited; limiting; restrictive
排他的	はいたてき haitateki	exclusive; exclusionary; restrictive

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
制度	せいど seido	system; institution; organization
制限	せいげん seigen	restriction; restraint; limitation
制作	せいさく seisaku	work (film, book)
規制	きせい kisei	regulation; (traffic) policing; control
体制	たいせい taisei	order; system; structure
強制	きょうせい kyousei	compulsion; coercion; forcing (to do)
限定	げんてい gentei	limit; restriction
限り	かぎり kagiri	limit; limits; bounds
使用	しよう shiyou	use; application; employment
方法	ほうほう houhou	method; way; manner

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.